Repeater Compatibility Verifier For Wireless Power Transmission System

ABSTRACT

A modular wireless power transfer system includes a first wireless transmission system and a wireless repeater system. The first wireless transmission system is configured to receive input power from an input power source, generate AC wireless signals, and couple with the wireless repeater system. A magnetic sensor system in the first wireless transmission system senses a magnet of specific strength in a specific location on the wireless repeater system. Based on the presence of absence of such a magnet, the first wireless transmission system allows or disallows, respectively, the transmission of the AC wireless signals to the wireless repeater system.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to systems and methods forwireless transfer of electrical power and/or electrical data signals,and, more particularly, to modular wireless power transmitters capableof repeating a power signal to other associated wireless powertransmitters and associated receivers.

BACKGROUND

Wireless connection systems are used in a variety of applications forthe wireless transfer of electrical energy, electrical power,electromagnetic energy, electrical data signals, among other knownwirelessly transmittable signals. Such systems often use inductiveand/or resonant inductive wireless power transfer, which occurs whenmagnetic fields created by a transmitting element induce an electricfield and, hence, an electric current, in a receiving element. Thesetransmitting and receiving elements will often take the form of coiledwires and/or antennas.

Transmission of one or more of electrical energy, electrical power,electromagnetic energy and/or electronic data signals from one of suchcoiled antennas to another, generally, operates at an operatingfrequency and/or an operating frequency range. The operating frequencymay be selected for a variety of reasons, such as, but not limited to,power transfer characteristics, power level characteristics,self-resonant frequency restraints, design requirements, adherence tostandards bodies' required characteristics (e.g. electromagneticinterference (EMI) requirements, specific absorption rate (SAR)requirements, among other things), bill of materials (BOM), and/or formfactor constraints, among other things. It is to be noted that,“self-resonating frequency,” as known to those having skill in the art,generally refers to the resonant frequency of a passive component (e.g.,an inductor) due to the parasitic characteristics of the component.

When such systems operate to wirelessly transfer power from atransmission system to a receiver system, via the coils and/or antennas,it is often desired to simultaneously or intermittently communicateelectronic data from one system to the other. To that end, a variety ofcommunications systems, methods, and/or apparatus have been utilized forcombined wireless power and wireless data transfer. In some examplesystems, wireless power transfer related communications (e.g.,validation procedures, electronic characteristics data communications,voltage data, current data, device type data, among other contemplateddata communications) are performed using other circuitry, such as anoptional Near Field Communications (NFC) antenna utilized to complimentthe wireless power system and/or additional Bluetooth chipsets for datacommunications, among other known communications circuits and/orantennas.

However, using additional antennas and/or circuitry can give rise toseveral disadvantages. For instance, using additional antennas and/orcircuitry can be inefficient and/or can increase the BOM of a wirelesspower system, which raises the cost for putting wireless power into anelectronic device. Further, in some such systems, out of bandcommunications provided by such additional antennas may result ininterference, such as cross-talk between the antennas; such cross talkmay present challenges in. Further yet, inclusion of such additionalantennas and/or circuitry can result in worsened EMI, as introduction ofthe additional system will cause greater harmonic distortion, incomparison to a system wherein both a wireless power signal and a datasignal are within the same channel. Still further, inclusion ofadditional antennas and/or circuitry hardware, for communications orincreased charging or powering area, may increase the area within adevice, for which the wireless power systems and/or components thereofreside, complicating a build of an end product.

SUMMARY

In some example applications for wireless power transfer, it is desiredto power and/or charge multiple electronic devices simultaneously.Currently, systems and/or products exist, employing multiple transmittercoils and associated driver circuits, wherein each system couples withan individual receiving device. However, such systems are expensive, asthe BOM is increased greatly for every additional system. Further,systems with multiple antennas and/or driving circuitry may be prone tointerference, between one another, leading to potential inefficienciesand/or complications in communications capability or causing degradationto communications capabilities. Additionally, if a user were to desireto increase the charging and/or powering area of the transmitter, theuser would be limited to the area provided by the original device orwould be required to provide an additional wireless transmitter, havinga separate connector to a power source.

To that end, modular wireless power transmitters, which are capable ofrepeating a wireless power signal to an associated, additional wirelesspower transmitter, are desired. Such systems may include communicationssystems and/or circuitry that provide stable and efficient in bandcommunications, eliminating the aforementioned need for additionalwireless data transmission antennas and/or circuitry. The systems andmethods disclosed herein provide for a nearly unlimited combination ofwireless power transmission areas, made possible by the inclusion of aplurality of modular wireless power transmitters in connection via useof the transmission antenna(s) as repeaters of the wireless powersignal.

In addition to providing a greater charging area, utilizing multiplemodular wireless power transmitters, as disclosed herein, may providefor further enhancement and/or fidelity of one or both of wireless powersignals and/or wireless data signals, upon such signals' ultimatetransmission to a receiver. While the transmitter-connected wirelesspower transmitters may omit active elements in their signal path whencoupled with, at least, the input source connected wireless powertransmitter, the electronic signals will still travel through any tuningsystem(s) and/or inactive filters of the unsourced wireless powertransmitters. Such exposure of the signal to additional filtering and/ortuning will further process the signal, in addition to thefiltering/tuning performed by the input source connected wireless powertransmitter. Thus, the additional filtering can increase fidelity of theelectronic signals.

Additionally, the inclusion of multiple, repeater-connected wirelesstransmission systems, in separate modules, may allow for supply chain,retail stocking, and/or manufacturing benefits. As large and widecharging areas may be desired (to, for example, cover, in whole or inpart, a desktop or tabletop), packaging and/or storing such a largesized wireless power transmission system may be burdensome to the supplychain, retail stocking, and/or manufacturing of such transmissionsystems. Therefore, by utilizing the modular wireless transmissionsystems disclosed herein, such burdens may be resolved, as the desiredlarge wireless power transmission areas can be subdivided into thedisclosed modular transmission systems, to be packaged, singularly or asa plurality, with far smaller surface areas than a packaged large area,non-modular transmitter. Additionally or alternatively, the modularwireless power transmission systems disclosed herein may be utilized, assold separately from one another, to upgrade or expand a wirelesstransmission area of a surface, as the modularity allows for a user toacquire additional transmitters to expand the wirelessly powered space.

In an aspect of the disclosure, a modular wireless power transfer systemincludes a wireless transmission system configured to receive inputpower from an input power source and generate AC wireless signals based,at least partially, thereon. The AC wireless signals include wirelesspower signals and wireless data signals. The wireless transmissionsystem includes a transmission antenna configured to couple with one ormore other antennas, and a magnetic sensor system configured to identifya repeater system prior to transmitting power or data to the repeatersystem. Further, a repeater system is provided and configured towirelessly receive the AC wireless signals from the wirelesstransmission system. The repeater system includes a secondarytransmission antenna configured to repeat the AC wireless signals to oneor more antennas and a magnet located and configured to identify therepeater system to the magnetic sensor system.

In a further aspect, the magnetic sensor system of the wirelesstransmission system comprises a Hall effect sensor, and in yet a furtheraspect, the magnetic sensor system uses a signal from the Hall effectsensor to determine whether or not to transmit power or data to therepeater system. The signal from the Hall effect sensor may beindicative of a strength of a detected magnetic field.

In one aspect of the disclosure the wireless transmission systemincludes a transmission controller to provide driving signals fordriving the transmission antenna, and a power conditioning system toreceive the driving signals and generate the AC wireless signals based,at least in part, thereon. In this aspect, the repeater system mayfurther include a second transmission controller configured to providesecond driving signals for driving a secondary transmission antenna, anda second power conditioning system configured to receive the seconddriving signals and generate second AC wireless signals based, at leastin part, on the second driving signal.

In a subsidiary feature, the second transmission controller and thesecond power conditioning system may be bypassed in a signal path forthe AC wireless signals. In another subsidiary feature, the first andsecond transmission antennae are configured to operate based on anoperating frequency of about 6.78 MHz.

In another aspect of the disclosure, a wireless repeater system isprovided for wirelessly receiving AC wireless signals from a wirelesspower and data transmission system. In this aspect, the wirelessrepeater system includes a receiver antenna for receiving AC wirelesssignals from the wireless power and data transmission system, atransmission antenna configured to repeat the AC wireless signal, and arepeater magnet located and configured to identify the repeater systemto a magnetic sensor system of the wireless transmission system.

In a feature of this aspect, the magnetic sensor system of the wirelesstransmission system comprises a Hall effect sensor. Further, an outputof the Hall effect sensor may be used to determine whether or not totransmit power or data to the repeater system. The signal from the Halleffect sensor may be indicative of a strength of the repeater magnetwhen the wireless transmission system is located in a specific locationand orientation relative to the repeater system.

In accordance with another feature, the wireless repeater system furtherincludes a transmission controller configured to provide driving signalsto the transmission antenna, and a power conditioning system configuredto recreate the AC wireless signals in the repeater system. Inaccordance with yet another feature, a selectable signal path may beprovided for the AC wireless signals to bypass the transmissioncontroller and power conditioning system.

In accordance with a subsidiary feature, the first transmission antennaand the second transmission antenna are configured to operate based onan operating frequency of about 6.78 MHz.

In yet another aspect of the disclosure, a wireless transmission systemis provided having a transmission antenna, a transmission controllerconfigured to provide driving signals for driving the transmissionantenna, a power conditioning system configured to receive the drivingsignals and generate AC wireless signals based, at least in part, on thedriving signal, and a magnetic sensor system configured to sense amagnet of specific strength in a specific location on a repeater and toallow transmission of the AC wireless signals to the repeater based onsensing the magnet of the specific strength in the specific location.

In accordance with a feature the magnetic sensor system comprises a Halleffect sensor. The transmission antenna may be configured to operatebased on an operating frequency of about 6.78 MHz.

The wireless transmission system may be configured to cease transmissionof the AC wireless signals when the magnetic sensor system determinesthat the magnet of specific strength is no longer in the specificlocation, due to either the magnet of specific strength no longer beingin the specific location due to a movement of the repeater or due to amagnet of other than the specific strength being located in the specificlocation.

These and other aspects and features of the present disclosure will bebetter understood when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a system for wirelesslytransferring one or more of electrical energy, electrical power signals,electrical power, electromagnetic energy, electronic data, andcombinations thereof, in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram illustrating components of a plurality ofmodular wireless transmission systems of the system of FIG. 1 and aplurality of wireless receiver systems of the system of FIG. 1 , inaccordance with FIG. 1 and the present disclosure.

FIG. 2B is another block diagram illustrating components of a pluralityof modular wireless transmission systems of the system of FIG. 1 and aplurality of wireless receiver systems of the system of FIG. 1 , inaccordance with FIG. 1 and the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating components of a transmissioncontrol system of the wireless transmission system of FIGS. 2 , inaccordance with FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 , and the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating components of a sensing system ofthe transmission control system of FIG. 3 , in accordance with FIGS. 1-3and the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram for an example low pass filter of the sensingsystem of FIG. 4 , in accordance with FIGS. 1-4 and the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating components of a demodulationcircuit for the wireless transmission system of FIGS. 2 , in accordancewith FIGS. 1-4 and the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is an electrical schematic diagram for the demodulation circuitof FIG. 6 , in accordance with FIGS. 1-6 and the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a timing diagram for voltages of an electrical signal, as ittravels through the demodulation circuit, in accordance with FIGS. 1-7and the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating components of a powerconditioning system of the wireless transmission system of FIG. 2 , inaccordance with FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 , and the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating components of a receiver controlsystem and a receiver power conditioning system of the wireless receiversystem of FIG. 2 , in accordance with FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 , and the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of another wireless power transfer system,including modular wireless transmission system(s) and at least onewireless receiver system, including like or similar elements to those ofthe system(s) of FIGS. 1-10 , in accordance with FIGS. 1-10 and thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram of an example relationship of the magnet,magnetic field sensor, wireless transmission system and repeater inaccordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram of an example relationship of the magnet,magnetic field sensor, wireless transmission system and repeater ingreater detail in accordance with the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 is a circuit-level diagram of a Hall effect sensor andassociated circuitry.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating a process of repeater verificationin accordance with an embodiment of the disclosed principles.

While the following detailed description will be given with respect tocertain illustrative embodiments, it should be understood that thedrawings are not necessarily to scale and the disclosed embodiments aresometimes illustrated diagrammatically and in partial views. Inaddition, in certain instances, details which are not necessary for anunderstanding of the disclosed subject matter or which render otherdetails too difficult to perceive may have been omitted. It shouldtherefore be understood that this disclosure is not limited to theparticular embodiments disclosed and illustrated herein, but rather to afair reading of the entire disclosure and claims, as well as anyequivalents thereto. Additional, different, or fewer components andmethods may be included in the systems and methods.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth byway of examples in order to provide a thorough understanding of therelevant teachings. However, it should be apparent to those skilled inthe art that the present teachings may be practiced without suchdetails. In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components,and/or circuitry have been described at a relatively high-level, withoutdetail, in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspects of the presentteachings.

When utilizing a wireless power transmission system with modularrepeaters, the user experience may be harmed if alternate or off-brandrepeaters enter the field and attempt to absorb the field emitted by thesource transmitter. The user experience can be preserved if the sourcetransmitter can specifically identify a proprietary or compatiblerepeater unit. In aspects of the disclosure, the source transmitter mayinclude a Hall Effect sensor and the repeater may include a magnet ofspecific strength and placement, wherein the source transmitter isconfigured to verify via sensing the magnet that the repeater iscompatible for use with the source transmitter and any end receiver.

In some examples, the Hall effect sensor may be associated with a magneton the source transmitter side and the transmitter magnet, wherein therepeater magnet (which is used in sensing/verification) is configured toattract/connect the source transmitter to the repeater, for the purposesof alignment and/or mechanical placement. The repeater itself may alsohave a Hall effect sensor that acts as a switch configured to sense anappropriate downstream repeater. In this way verification of a thirdcoil in the chain is possible. In this embodiment, the lack of the 2ndrepeater magnet may disable the first repeater such that there is nopower transmission. In a further form, the control system of thetransmitter may alter the tuning of the transmitter to account for thetransmission to the repeater instead of to an end device.

Referring now to the drawings and with specific reference to FIG. 1 , awireless power transfer system 10 is illustrated. The wireless powertransfer system 10 provides for the wireless transmission of electricalsignals, such as, but not limited to, electrical energy, electricalpower, electrical power signals, electromagnetic energy, andelectronically transmittable data (“electronic data”). As used herein,the term “electrical power signal” refers to an electrical signaltransmitted specifically to provide meaningful electrical energy forcharging and/or directly powering a load, whereas the term “electronicdata signal” refers to an electrical signal that is utilized to conveydata across a medium.

The wireless power transfer system 10 provides for the wirelesstransmission of electrical signals via near field magnetic coupling. Asshown in the embodiment of FIG. 1 , the wireless power transfer system10 includes one or more wireless transmission systems 20 and one or morewireless receiver systems 30. A wireless receiver system 30 isconfigured to receive electrical signals from, at least, a wirelesstransmission system 20. As illustrated, the system 10 may include anynumber of wireless transmission systems 20, up to “N” number of wirelesstransmission systems 20N. Similarly, the system 10 may include anynumber of wireless receiver systems 30, up to “N” number of wirelessreceiver systems 30N.

As illustrated, the wireless transmission system(s) 20 and wirelessreceiver system(s) 30 may be configured to transmit electrical signalsacross, at least, a separation distance or gap 17. A separation distanceor gap, such as the gap 17, in the context of a wireless power transfersystem, such as the system 10, does not include a physical connection,such as a wired connection. There may be intermediary objects located ina separation distance or gap, such as, but not limited to, air, acounter top, a casing for an electronic device, a plastic filament, aninsulator, a mechanical wall, among other things; however, there is nophysical, electrical connection at such a separation distance or gap.

Thus, the combination of two or more wireless transmission systems 20and wireless receiver system 30 create an electrical connection withoutthe need for a physical connection. As used herein, the term “electricalconnection” refers to any facilitation of a transfer of an electricalcurrent, voltage, and/or power from a first location, device, component,and/or source to a second location, device, component, and/ordestination. An “electrical connection” may be a physical connection,such as, but not limited to, a wire, a trace, a via, among otherphysical electrical connections, connecting a first location, device,component, and/or source to a second location, device, component, and/ordestination. Additionally or alternatively, an “electrical connection”may be a wireless power and/or data transfer, such as, but not limitedto, magnetic, electromagnetic, resonant, and/or inductive field, amongother wireless power and/or data transfers, connecting a first location,device, component, and/or source to a second location, device,component, and/or destination.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 , one or more transmission antennas 21 of thewireless transmission system(s) 20 may operate as a repeater of awireless power signal. As defined herein, a “repeater” is an antennathat is configured to relay magnetic fields emanating between atransmission antenna 21 and one or both of a receiver antenna 31 and oneor more other transmission antennas 21, when such subsequenttransmission antennas 21 are configured as repeaters. Thus, the one ormore transmission antennas 21 and/or systems 20 thereof may beconfigured to relay electrical energy and/or data via NMFC from thetransmission antenna 21 to a receiver antenna 31 or to anothertransmission antenna 21. In one or more embodiments, such repeatingtransmission antennas 20B, 20N comprise an inductor coil capable ofresonating at a frequency that is about the same as the resonatingfrequency of the transmission antenna 21 and the receiver antenna 31.

Further, while FIGS. 1-2B may depict wireless power signals and wirelessdata signals transferring only from one antenna (e.g., a transmissionantenna 21) to another antenna (e.g., a receiver antenna 31 and/or atransmission antenna 21), it is certainly possible that a transmittingantenna 21 may transfer electrical signals and/or couple with one ormore other antennas and transfer, at least in part, components of theoutput signals or magnetic fields of the transmitting antenna 21. Suchtransmission may include secondary and/or stray coupling or signaltransfer to multiple antennas of the system 10.

In some cases, the gap 17 may also be referenced as a “Z-Distance,”because, if one considers an antenna 21, 31 each to be disposedsubstantially along respective common X-Y planes, then the distanceseparating the antennas 21, 31 is the gap in a “Z” or “depth” direction.However, flexible and/or non-planar coils are certainly contemplated byembodiments of the present disclosure and, thus, it is contemplated thatthe gap 17 may not be uniform, across an envelope of connectiondistances between the antennas 21, 31. It is contemplated that varioustunings, configurations, and/or other parameters may alter the possiblemaximum distance of the gap 17, such that electrical transmission fromthe wireless transmission system 20 to the wireless receiver system 30remains possible.

The wireless power transfer system 10 operates when the wirelesstransmission system 20 and the wireless receiver system 30 are coupled.As used herein, the terms “couples,” “coupled,” and “coupling” generallyrefer to magnetic field coupling, which occurs when a transmitter and/orany components thereof and a receiver and/or any components thereof arecoupled to each other through a magnetic field. Such coupling mayinclude coupling, represented by a coupling coefficient (k), that is atleast sufficient for an induced electrical power signal, from atransmitter, to be harnessed by a receiver. Coupling of the wirelesstransmission system 20 and the wireless receiver system 30, in thesystem 10, may be represented by a resonant coupling coefficient of thesystem 10 and, for the purposes of wireless power transfer, the couplingcoefficient for the system 10 may be in the range of about 0.01 and 0.9.

As illustrated, at least one wireless transmission system 20A isassociated with an input power source 12. The input power source 12 maybe operatively associated with a host device, which may be anyelectrically operated device, circuit board, electronic assembly,dedicated charging device, or any other contemplated electronic device.Example host devices, with which the wireless transmission system 20Amay be associated therewith, include, but are not limited to including,a device that includes an integrated circuit, a portable computingdevice, storage medium for electronic devices, charging apparatus forone or multiple electronic devices, dedicated electrical chargingdevices, among other contemplated electronic devices.

The input power source 12 may be or may include one or more electricalstorage devices, such as an electrochemical cell, a battery pack, and/ora capacitor, among other storage devices. Additionally or alternatively,the input power source 12 may be any electrical input source (e.g., anyalternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) delivery port) and mayinclude connection apparatus from said electrical input source to thewireless transmission system 20 (e.g., transformers, regulators,conductive conduits, traces, wires, or equipment, goods, computer,camera, mobile phone, and/or other electrical device connection portsand/or adaptors, such as but not limited to USB ports and/or adaptors,among other contemplated electrical components).

In FIG. 1 , the only wireless transmission system 20 that is physicallyin electrical connection with the input power source 12 is the firstwireless transmission system 20A. A wireless transmission system 20 thatis in physical electrical connection with the input power source 12, forthe purposes of this disclosure, is referred to as a “input sourceconnected wireless power transmitter.” The additional wireless powertransmission systems 20B, 20N both are capable of repeating andtransmitting wireless signals and may include like or identicalcomponents to those of the input source connected wireless powertransmitter 20A; however, the systems 20B, 20N are not in physicalelectrical connection with the input power source 12 and repeat wirelesspower signals and wireless data signals from one or more of the inputsource connected wireless power transmitter 20A, another transmitterconnected wireless power transmitter 20B, 20N, or combinations thereof.A wireless transmission system 20 that is not in physical electricalconnection with the input power source 12, for the purposes of thisdisclosure, is referred to as a “transmitter connected wireless powertransmitter.”

Electrical energy received by the wireless transmission system(s) 20 isthen used for at least two purposes: to provide electrical power tointernal components of the wireless transmission system 20 and toprovide electrical power to the transmission antenna 21. Thetransmission antenna 21 is configured to wirelessly transmit theelectrical signals conditioned and modified for wireless transmission bythe wireless transmission system 20 via near-field magnetic coupling(NFMC). Near-field magnetic coupling enables the transfer of signalswirelessly through magnetic induction between the transmission antenna21 and one or more of receiving antenna 31 of, or associated with, thewireless receiver system 30, another transmission antenna 21, orcombinations thereof. Near-field magnetic coupling may be and/or bereferred to as “inductive coupling,” which, as used herein, is awireless power transmission technique that utilizes an alternatingelectromagnetic field to transfer electrical energy between twoantennas. Such inductive coupling is the near field wirelesstransmission of magnetic energy between two magnetically coupled coilsthat are tuned to resonate at a similar frequency. Accordingly, suchnear-field magnetic coupling may enable efficient wireless powertransmission via resonant transmission of confined magnetic fields.Further, such near-field magnetic coupling may provide connection via“mutual inductance,” which, as defined herein is the production of anelectromotive force in a circuit by a change in current in a secondcircuit magnetically coupled to the first.

In one or more embodiments, the inductor coils of either thetransmission antenna 21 or the receiver antenna 31 are strategicallypositioned to facilitate reception and/or transmission of wirelesslytransferred electrical signals through near field magnetic induction.Antenna operating frequencies may comprise relatively high operatingfrequency ranges, examples of which may include, but are not limited to,6.78 MHz (e.g., in accordance with the REZENCE and/or AIRFUEL interfacestandard and/or any other proprietary interface standard operating at afrequency of 6.78 MHz), 13.56 MHz (e.g., in accordance with the NFCstandard, defined by ISO/IEC standard 18092), 27 MHz, and/or anoperating frequency of another proprietary operating mode. The operatingfrequencies of the antennas 21, 31 may be operating frequenciesdesignated by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) in theIndustrial, Scientific, and Medical (ISM) frequency bands, including notlimited to 6.78 MHz, 13.56 MHz, and 27 MHz, which are designated for usein wireless power transfer.

The transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna of the presentdisclosure may be configured to transmit and/or receive electrical powerhaving a magnitude that ranges from about 10 milliwatts (mW) to about500 watts (W). In one or more embodiments the inductor coil of thetransmitting antenna 21 is configured to resonate at a transmittingantenna resonant frequency or within a transmitting antenna resonantfrequency band.

As known to those skilled in the art, a “resonant frequency” or“resonant frequency band” refers a frequency or frequencies whereinamplitude response of the antenna is at a relative maximum, or,additionally or alternatively, the frequency or frequency band where thecapacitive reactance has a magnitude substantially similar to themagnitude of the inductive reactance. In one or more embodiments, thetransmitting antenna resonant frequency is at a high frequency, as knownto those in the art of wireless power transfer.

The wireless receiver system 30 may be associated with at least oneelectronic device 14, wherein the electronic device 14 may be any devicethat requires electrical power for any function and/or for power storage(e.g., via a battery and/or capacitor). Additionally, the electronicdevice 14 may be any device capable of receipt of electronicallytransmissible data. For example, the device may be, but is not limitedto being, a handheld computing device, a mobile device, a portableappliance, a computer peripheral, an integrated circuit, an identifiabletag, a kitchen utility device, an electronic tool, an electric vehicle,a game console, a robotic device, a wearable electronic device (e.g., anelectronic watch, electronically modified glasses, altered-reality (AR)glasses, virtual reality (VR) glasses, among other things), a portablescanning device, a portable identifying device, a sporting good, anembedded sensor, an Internet of Things (IoT) sensor, IoT enabledclothing, IoT enabled recreational equipment, industrial equipment,medical equipment, a medical device a tablet computing device, aportable control device, a remote controller for an electronic device, agaming controller, among other things.

For the purposes of illustrating the features and characteristics of thedisclosed embodiments, arrow-ended lines are utilized to illustratetransferrable and/or communicative signals and various patterns are usedto illustrate electrical signals that are intended for powertransmission and electrical signals that are intended for thetransmission of data and/or control instructions. Solid lines indicatesignal transmission of electrical energy over a physical and/or wirelesspower transfer, in the form of power signals that are, ultimately,utilized in wireless power transmission from the wireless transmissionsystem 20 to the wireless receiver system 30. Further, dotted lines areutilized to illustrate electronically transmittable data signals, whichultimately may be wirelessly transmitted from the wireless transmissionsystem 20 to the wireless receiver system 30.

While the systems and methods herein illustrate the transmission ofwirelessly transmitted energy, wireless power signals, wirelesslytransmitted power, wirelessly transmitted electromagnetic energy, and/orelectronically transmittable data, it is certainly contemplated that thesystems, methods, and apparatus disclosed herein may be utilized in thetransmission of only one signal, various combinations of two signals, ormore than two signals and, further, it is contemplated that the systems,method, and apparatus disclosed herein may be utilized for wirelesstransmission of other electrical signals in addition to or uniquely incombination with one or more of the above mentioned signals. In someexamples, the signal paths of solid or dotted lines may represent afunctional signal path, whereas, in practical application, the actualsignal is routed through additional components in route to its indicateddestination. For example, it may be indicated that a data signal routesfrom a communications apparatus to another communications apparatus;however, in practical application, the data signal may be routed throughan amplifier, then through a transmission antenna, to a receiverantenna, where, on the receiver end, the data signal is decoded by arespective communications device of the receiver.

Turning now to FIG. 2 , the wireless power transfer system 10 isillustrated as a block diagram including example sub-systems of both thewireless transmission systems 20 and the wireless receiver systems 30.The wireless transmission systems 20 may include, at least, a powerconditioning system 40, a transmission control system 26, a transmissiontuning system 24, and the transmission antenna 21. A first portion ofthe electrical energy input from the input power source 12 may beconfigured to electrically power components of the wireless transmissionsystem 20 such as, but not limited to, the transmission control system26. A second portion of the electrical energy input from the input powersource 12 is conditioned and/or modified for wireless powertransmission, to the wireless receiver system 30, via the transmissionantenna 21. Accordingly, the second portion of the input energy ismodified and/or conditioned by the power conditioning system 40. Whilenot illustrated, it is certainly contemplated that one or both of thefirst and second portions of the input electrical energy may bemodified, conditioned, altered, and/or otherwise changed prior toreceipt by the power conditioning system 40 and/or transmission controlsystem 26, by further contemplated subsystems (e.g., a voltageregulator, a current regulator, switching systems, fault systems, safetyregulators, among other things).

In some examples including transmitter connected wireless transmissionsystems 20B, 20N, active or externally powered components of thewireless transmission system 20 may be shorted or bypassed, when theelectrical signals pass through circuitry of the transmitter connectedwireless transmission systems 20B, 20N. Such shorting or bypassing ofthe active electronics may be achieved when the transmission antennas21B, 12N are properly impedance matched for repeating the wirelesssignals. Such signal travel through, for example, the transmissiontuning systems 20B, 20N may provide for greater filtering and/or signalfidelity, as another instance of filtering and/or tuning is provided tothe travelling signal, prior to transmission by the transmissionantennas 21B, 21N. As illustrated best in the system of FIG. 2B, someexample transmitter connected wireless transmission systems 20B, 20N mayomit one or more of the active circuits and/or active circuit componentsof the wireless transmission system 20A.

“Active components,” as defined herein, refer to components of thewireless transmission system(s) 20 that require an input power (e.g.,from an input power source 12) to perform their intended functionswithin the wireless transmission system(s) 20 and/or any sub-componentsthereof. Active components include, but are not limited to including,processors, controllers, amplifiers, transistors, or combinationsthereof, among other active components known to those having skill inthe art. “Passive components,” as defined herein, refer to components ofthe wireless transmission system(s) 20 that perform their intendedfunctions, within the wireless transmission system(s) 20 and/or anysub-components thereof, whether or not the passive components are in asignal path of an input power source. Example passive componentsinclude, but are not limited to including, resistors, capacitors,inductors, diodes, transformers, or combinations thereof, among otherpassive components known to those having skill in the art.

By omitting the active components in the signal path, modular,additional transmitter connected wireless transmission systems 20 may beprovided to a user at lower cost than an input source connected wirelesstransmission system 20A. Thus, if the user desires to increase thecharging area for the electronic device(s) 14, transmitter connectedwireless transmission systems 20 may be provided at a lower cost, due tothe omission of active components that would otherwise be necessary ifthe system 20 was drawing power from an input power source.Additionally, by omitting the active components from the signal path,transmission of the wireless signals, via the wireless transmissionsystem 10 including one or more transmission systems 20B, 20N configuredas repeating systems, power or efficiency losses caused by the activecomponents may be removed from the signal transfer.

The term “modular,” as defined herein, is an adjective referring tosystems that may be constructed utilizing standardized units orcomponents, such that user flexibility and/or reconfigurability withsuch standardized units or components allows for a variety uses orpermutations of the system.

Additionally or alternatively, the wireless transmission systemsdisclosed herein may be reconfigurable. A “reconfigurable” wirelesspower transfer or transmission system, as defined herein, refers to awireless power transfer or transmission system having a plurality ofsecondary transmission systems (e.g., the wireless transmission systems20B, 20N) capable of being moved relative to a primary transmissionsystem (e.g., the wireless transmission system 20A), while, during suchmovement, the secondary transmission system(s) are still capable ofreceiving wireless power signals from the primary transmission system. Aprimary transmission system, as defined herein, refers to a poweredand/or “active” wireless power transmission system receiving electricalenergy or power directly from an input power source, which conditionsthe electrical energy or power for wireless transmission. The primarytransmission system generates a primary or active powering/charging zoneproximate to the primary transmission system. A secondary transmissionsystem, as defined herein, refers to a wirelessly powered or “passive”wireless transmission system configured to receive wireless powersignals from a primary transmission system and transmit or repeat thewireless power signals to one or more of additional secondarytransmission systems, wireless receiver systems, or combinationsthereof. Secondary wireless transmission systems generate a secondary orpassive powering/charging zone proximate to the secondary wirelesstransmission system(s).

Referring now to FIG. 3 , with continued reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 ,subcomponents and/or systems of the transmission control system 26 areillustrated. The transmission control system 26 may include a sensingsystem 50, a transmission controller 28, a communications system 29, adriver 48, and a memory 27.

The transmission controller 28 may be any electronic controller orcomputing system that includes, at least, a processor which performsoperations, executes control algorithms, stores data, retrieves data,gathers data, controls and/or provides communication with othercomponents and/or subsystems associated with the wireless transmissionsystem 20, and/or performs any other computing or controlling taskdesired. The transmission controller 28 may be a single controller ormay include more than one controller disposed to control variousfunctions and/or features of the wireless transmission system 20.Functionality of the transmission controller 28 may be implemented inhardware and/or software and may rely on one or more data maps relatingto the operation of the wireless transmission system 20. To that end,the transmission controller 28 may be operatively associated with thememory 27. The memory may include one or more of internal memory,external memory, and/or remote memory (e.g., a database and/or serveroperatively connected to the transmission controller 28 via a network,such as, but not limited to, the Internet). The internal memory and/orexternal memory may include, but are not limited to including, one ormore of a read only memory (ROM), including programmable read-onlymemory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM orsometimes but rarely labelled EROM), electrically erasable programmableread-only memory (EEPROM), random access memory (RAM), including dynamicRAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), singledata rate synchronous dynamic RAM (SDR SDRAM), double data ratesynchronous dynamic RAM (DDR SDRAM, DDR2, DDR3, DDR4), and graphicsdouble data rate synchronous dynamic RAM (GDDR SDRAM, GDDR2, GDDR3,GDDR4, GDDR5, a flash memory, a portable memory, and the like. Suchmemory media are examples of nontransitory machine readable and/orcomputer readable memory media.

While particular elements of the transmission control system 26 areillustrated as independent components and/or circuits (e.g., the driver48, the memory 27, the communications system 29, the sensing system 50,among other contemplated elements) of the transmission control system26, such components may be integrated with the transmission controller28. In some examples, the transmission controller 28 may be anintegrated circuit configured to include functional elements of one orboth of the transmission controller 28 and the wireless transmissionsystem 20, generally.

As illustrated, the transmission controller 28 is in operativeassociation, for the purposes of data transmission, receipt, and/orcommunication, with, at least, the memory 27, the communications system29, the power conditioning system 40, the driver 48, and the sensingsystem 50. The driver 48 may be implemented to control, at least inpart, the operation of the power conditioning system 40. In someexamples, the driver 48 may receive instructions from the transmissioncontroller 28 to generate and/or output a generated pulse widthmodulation (PWM) signal to the power conditioning system 40. In somesuch examples, the PWM signal may be configured to drive the powerconditioning system 40 to output electrical power as an alternatingcurrent signal, having an operating frequency defined by the PWM signal.In some examples, PWM signal may be configured to generate a duty cyclefor the AC power signal output by the power conditioning system 40. Insome such examples, the duty cycle may be configured to be about 50% ofa given period of the AC power signal.

The sensing system may include one or more sensors, wherein each sensormay be operatively associated with one or more components of thewireless transmission system 20 and configured to provide informationand/or data. The term “sensor” is used in its broadest interpretation todefine one or more components operatively associated with the wirelesstransmission system 20 that operate to sense functions, conditions,electrical characteristics, operations, and/or operating characteristicsof one or more of the wireless transmission system 20, the wirelessreceiving system 30, the input power source 12, the host device 11, thetransmission antenna 21, the receiver antenna 31, along with any othercomponents and/or subcomponents thereof.

As illustrated in the embodiment of FIG. 4 , the sensing system 50 mayinclude, but is not limited to including, a thermal sensing system 52,an object sensing system 54, a receiver sensing system 56, a currentsensor 57, and/or any other sensor(s) 58. Within these systems, theremay exist even more specific optional additional or alternative sensingsystems addressing particular sensing aspects required by anapplication, such as, but not limited to: a condition-based maintenancesensing system, a performance optimization sensing system, astate-of-charge sensing system, a temperature management sensing system,a component heating sensing system, an IoT sensing system, an energyand/or power management sensing system, an impact detection sensingsystem, an electrical status sensing system, a speed detection sensingsystem, a device health sensing system, among others. The object sensingsystem 54, may be a foreign object detection (FOD) system.

Each of the thermal sensing system 52, the object sensing system 54, thereceiver sensing system 56, the current sensor 57, and/or the othersensor(s) 58, including the optional additional or alternative systems,are operatively and/or communicatively connected to the transmissioncontroller 28. The thermal sensing system 52 is configured to monitorambient and/or component temperatures within the wireless transmissionsystem 20 or other elements nearby the wireless transmission system 20.The thermal sensing system 52 may be configured to detect a temperaturewithin the wireless transmission system 20 and, if the detectedtemperature exceeds a threshold temperature, the transmission controller28 prevents the wireless transmission system 20 from operating. Such athreshold temperature may be configured for safety considerations,operational considerations, efficiency considerations, and/or anycombinations thereof. In a non-limiting example, if, via input from thethermal sensing system 52, the transmission controller 28 determinesthat the temperature within the wireless transmission system 20 hasincreased from an acceptable operating temperature to an undesiredoperating temperature (e.g., in a non-limiting example, the internaltemperature increasing from about 20° Celsius (C) to about 50° C., thetransmission controller 28 prevents the operation of the wirelesstransmission system 20 and/or reduces levels of power output from thewireless transmission system 20. In some non-limiting examples, thethermal sensing system 52 may include one or more of a thermocouple, athermistor, a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) resistor, aresistance temperature detector (RTD), and/or any combinations thereof.

As depicted in FIG. 4 , the transmission sensing system 50 may includethe object sensing system 54. The object sensing system 54 may beconfigured to detect one or more of the wireless receiver system 30and/or the receiver antenna 31, thus indicating to the transmissioncontroller 28 that the receiver system 30 is proximate to the wirelesstransmission system 20. Additionally or alternatively, the objectsensing system 54 may be configured to detect presence of unwantedobjects in contact with or proximate to the wireless transmission system20. In some examples, the object sensing system 54 is configured todetect the presence of an undesired object. In some such examples, ifthe transmission controller 28, via information provided by the objectsensing system 54, detects the presence of an undesired object, then thetransmission controller 28 prevents or otherwise modifies operation ofthe wireless transmission system 20. As will be discussed in greaterdetail later with respect to FIGS. 12-15 the sensing system 50 mayinclude a magnetic key sensing module configured to verify not only thepresence of a repeater but the compatibility of the repeater.

In some examples, the object sensing system 54 utilizes an impedancechange detection scheme, in which the transmission controller 28analyzes a change in electrical impedance observed by the transmissionantenna 20 against a known, acceptable electrical impedance value orrange of electrical impedance values.

Additionally or alternatively, the object sensing system 54 may utilizea quality factor (Q) change detection scheme, in which the transmissioncontroller 28 analyzes a change from a known quality factor value orrange of quality factor values of the object being detected, such as thereceiver antenna 31. The “quality factor” or “Q” of an inductor can bedefined as (frequency (Hz)×inductance (H))/resistance (ohms), wherefrequency is the operational frequency of the circuit, inductance is theinductance output of the inductor and resistance is the combination ofthe radiative and reactive resistances that are internal to theinductor. “Quality factor,” as defined herein, is generally accepted asan index (figure of measure) that measures the efficiency of anapparatus like an antenna, a circuit, or a resonator. In some examples,the object sensing system 54 may include one or more of an opticalsensor, an electro-optical sensor, a Hall effect sensor, a proximitysensor, and/or any combinations thereof. In some examples, the qualityfactor measurements, described above, may be performed when the wirelesspower transfer system 10 is performing in band communications.

The receiver sensing system 56 is any sensor, circuit, and/orcombinations thereof configured to detect presence of any wirelessreceiving system that may be couplable with the wireless transmissionsystem 20. In some examples, the receiver sensing system 56 and theobject sensing system 54 may be combined, may share components, and/ormay be embodied by one or more common components. In some examples, ifthe presence of any such wireless receiving system is detected, wirelesstransmission of electrical energy, electrical power, electromagneticenergy, and/or data by the wireless transmission system 20 to saidwireless receiving system is enabled. In some examples, if the presenceof a wireless receiver system is not detected, continued wirelesstransmission of electrical energy, electrical power, electromagneticenergy, and/or data is prevented from occurring. Accordingly, thereceiver sensing system 56 may include one or more sensors and/or may beoperatively associated with one or more sensors that are configured toanalyze electrical characteristics within an environment of or proximateto the wireless transmission system 20 and, based on the electricalcharacteristics, determine presence of a wireless receiver system 30.

The current sensor 57 may be any sensor configured to determineelectrical information from an electrical signal, such as a voltage or acurrent, based on a current reading at the current sensor 57. Componentsof an example current sensor 57 are further illustrated in FIG. 5 ,which is a block diagram for the current sensor 57. The current sensor57 may include a transformer 51, a rectifier 53, and/or a low passfilter 55, to process the AC wireless signals, transferred via couplingbetween the wireless receiver system(s) 20 and wireless transmissionsystem(s) 30, to determine or provide information to derive a current(I_(Tx)) or voltage (V_(Tx)) at the transmission antenna 21. Thetransformer 51 may receive the AC wireless signals and either step up orstep down the voltage of the AC wireless signal, such that it canproperly be processed by the current sensor. The rectifier 53 mayreceive the transformed AC wireless signal and rectify the signal, suchthat any negative remaining in the transformed AC wireless signal areeither eliminated or converted to opposite positive voltages, togenerate a rectified AC wireless signal. The low pass filter 55 isconfigured to receive the rectified AC wireless signal and filter out ACcomponents (e.g., the operating or carrier frequency of the AC wirelesssignal) of the rectified AC wireless signal, such that a DC voltage isoutput for the current (I_(Tx)) and/or voltage (V_(Tx)) at thetransmission antenna 21.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram for a demodulation circuit 70 for the wirelesstransmission system(s) 20, which is used by the wireless transmissionsystem 20 to simplify or decode components of wireless data signals ofan alternating current (AC) wireless signal, prior to transmission ofthe wireless data signal to the transmission controller 28. Thedemodulation circuit includes, at least, a slope detector 72 and acomparator 74. In some examples, the demodulation circuit 70 includes aset/reset (SR) latch 76. In some examples, the demodulation circuit 70may be an analog circuit comprised of one or more passive components(e.g., resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes, among other passivecomponents) and/or one or more active components (e.g., operationalamplifiers, logic gates, among other active components). Alternatively,it is contemplated that the demodulation circuit 70 and some or all ofits components may be implemented as an integrated circuit (IC). Ineither an analog circuit or IC, it is contemplated that the demodulationcircuit may be external of the transmission controller 28 and isconfigured to provide information associated with wireless data signalstransmitted from the wireless receiver system 30 to the wirelesstransmission system 20.

The demodulation circuit 70 is configured to receive electricalinformation (e.g., I_(Tx), V_(Tx)) from at least one sensor (e.g., asensor of the sensing system 50), detect a change in such electricalinformation, determine if the change in the electrical information meetsor exceeds one of a rise threshold or a fall threshold. If the changeexceeds one of the rise threshold or the fall threshold, thedemodulation circuit 70 generates an alert, and, outputs a plurality ofdata alerts. Such data alerts are received by the transmitter controller28 and decoded by the transmitter controller 28 to determine thewireless data signals. In other words, the demodulation circuit 70 isconfigured to monitor the slope of an electrical signal (e.g., slope ofa voltage at the power conditioning system 32 of a wireless receiversystem 30) and output an alert if said slope exceeds a maximum slopethreshold or undershoots a minimum slope threshold.

Such slope monitoring and/or slope detection by the communicationssystem 70 is particularly useful when detecting or decoding an amplitudeshift keying (ASK) signal that encodes the wireless data signals in-bandof the wireless power signal at the operating frequency. In an ASKsignal, the wireless data signals are encoded by damping the voltage ofthe magnetic field between the wireless transmission system 20 and thewireless receiver system 30. Such damping and subsequent re-rising ofthe voltage in the field is performed based on an encoding scheme forthe wireless data signals (e.g., binary coding, Manchester coding,pulse-width modulated coding, among other known or novel coding systemsand methods). The receiver of the wireless data signals (e.g., thewireless transmission system 20) must then detect rising and fallingedges of the voltage of the field and decode said rising and fallingedges to receive the wireless data signals.

While in a theoretical, ideal scenario, an ASK signal will rise and fallinstantaneously, with no slope between the high voltage and the lowvoltage for ASK modulation; however, in physical reality, there is sometime that passes when the ASK signal transitions from the “high” voltageto the “low” voltage. Thus, the voltage or current signal sensed by thedemodulation circuit 70 will have some, knowable slope or rate of changein voltage when transitioning from the high ASK voltage to the low ASKvoltage. By configuring the demodulation circuit 70 to determine whensaid slope meets, overshoots and/or undershoots such rise and fallthresholds, known for the slope when operating in the system 10, thedemodulation circuit can accurately detect rising and falling edges ofthe ASK signal.

Thus, a relatively inexpensive and/or simplified circuit may be utilizedto, at least partially, decode ASK signals down to alerts for rising andfalling instances. So long as the transmission controller 28 isprogrammed to understand the coding schema of the ASK modulation, thetransmission controller 28 will expend far less computational resourcesthan it would if it had to decode the leading and falling edges directlyfrom an input current or voltage sense signal from the sensing system50. To that end, as the computational resources required by thetransmission controller 28 to decode the wireless data signals aresignificantly decreased due to the inclusion of the demodulation circuit70, the demodulation circuit 70 may significantly reduce BOM of thewireless transmission system 20, by allowing usage of cheaper, lesscomputationally capable processor(s) for or with the transmissioncontroller 28.

The demodulation circuit 70 may be particularly useful in reducing thecomputational burden for decoding data signals, at the transmittercontroller 28, when the ASK wireless data signals are encoded/decodedutilizing a pulse-width encoded ASK signals, in-band of the wirelesspower signals. A pulse-width encoded ASK signal refers to a signalwherein the data is encoded as a percentage of a period of a signal. Forexample, a two-bit pulse width encoded signal may encode a start bit as20% of a period between high edges of the signal, encode “1” as 40% of aperiod between high edges of the signal, and encode “0” as 60% of aperiod between high edges of the signal, to generate a binary encodingformat in the pulse width encoding scheme. Thus, as the pulse widthencoding relies solely on monitoring rising and falling edges of the ASKsignal, the periods between rising times need not be constant and thedata signals may be asynchronous or “unclocked.” Examples of pulse widthencoding and systems and methods to perform such pulse width encodingare explained in greater detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/735,342 titled “Systems and Methods for Wireless Power TransferIncluding Pulse Width Encoded Data Communications,” to Michael Katz,which is commonly owned by the owner of the instant application and ishereby incorporated by reference.

Turning now to FIG. 7 , with continued reference to FIG. 6 , anelectrical schematic diagram for the demodulation circuit 70 isillustrated. Additionally, reference will be made to FIG. 8 , which isan exemplary timing diagram illustrating signal shape or waveform atvarious stages or sub-circuits of the demodulation circuit 70. The inputsignal to the demodulation circuit 70 is illustrated in FIG. 7 as PlotA, showing rising and falling edges from a “high” voltage (V_(High)) onthe transmission antenna 21 to a “low” voltage (V_(Low)) on thetransmission antenna 21. The voltage signal of Plot A may be derivedfrom, for example, a current (I_(TX)) sensed at the transmission antenna21 by one or more sensors of the sensing system 50. Such rises and fallsfrom V_(High) to V_(Low) may be caused by load modulation, performed atthe wireless receiver system(s) 30, to modulate the wireless powersignals to include the wireless data signals via ASK modulation. Asillustrated, the voltage of Plot A does not cleanly rise and fall whenthe ASK modulation is performed; rather, a slope or slopes, indicatingrate(s) of change, occur during the transitions from V_(High) to Wow andvice versa.

As illustrated in FIG. 7 , the slope detector 72 includes a high passfilter 71, an operation amplifier (OpAmp) OP_(SD), and an optionalstabilizing circuit 73. The high pass filter 71 is configured to monitorfor higher frequency components of the AC wireless signals and mayinclude, at least, a filter capacitor (C_(HF)) and a filter resistor(R_(HF)). The values for C_(HF) and R_(HF) are selected and/or tuned fora desired cutoff frequency for the high pass filter 71. In someexamples, the cutoff frequency for the high pass filter 71 may beselected as a value greater than or equal to about 1-2 kHz, to ensureadequately fast slope detection by the slope detector 72, when theoperating frequency of the system 10 is on the order of MHz (e.g., anoperating frequency of about 6.78 MHz). In some examples, the high passfilter 71 is configured such that harmonic components of the detectedslope are unfiltered. In view of the current sensor 57 of FIG. 5 , thehigh pass filter 71 and the low pass filter 55, in combination, mayfunction as a bandpass filter for the demodulation circuit 70.

OP_(SD) is any operational amplifier having an adequate bandwidth forproper signal response, for outputting the slope of VT, but low enoughto attenuate components of the signal that are based on the operatingfrequency and/or harmonics of the operating frequency. Additionally oralternatively, OP_(SD) may be selected to have a small input voltagerange for V_(Tx), such that OP_(SD) may avoid unnecessary error orclipping during large changes in voltage at V_(Tx). Further, an inputbias voltage (V_(Bias)) for OP_(SD) may be selected based on values thatensure OP_(SD) will not saturate under boundary conditions (e.g.,steepest slopes, largest changes in V_(Tx)). It is to be noted, and isillustrated in Plot B of FIG. 8 , that when no slope is detected, theoutput of the slope detector 72 will be V_(Bias).

As the passive components of the slope detector 72 will set theterminals and zeroes for a transfer function of the slope detector 72,such passive components must be selected to ensure stability. To thatend, if the desired and/or available components selected for C_(HF) andR_(HF) do not adequately set the terminals and zeros for the transferfunction, additional, optional stability capacitor(s) C_(ST) may beplaced in parallel with R_(HF) and stability resistor R_(ST) may beplaced in the input path to OP_(SD).

Output of the slope detector 72 (Plot B representing V_(SD)) mayapproximate the following equation:

$V_{SD} = {{{- R_{HF}}C_{HF}\frac{dV}{dt}} + V_{Bias}}$

Thus, V_(SD) will approximate to V_(Bias), when no change in voltage(slope) is detected, and V_(SD) will output the change in voltage(dV/dt), as scaled by the high pass filter 71, when V_(Tx) rises andfalls between the high voltage and the low voltage of the ASKmodulation. The output of the slope detector 72, as illustrated in PlotB, may be a pulse, showing slope of V_(Tx) rise and fall.

V_(SD) is output to the comparator circuit(s) 74, which is configured toreceive V_(SD), compare V_(SD) to a rising rate of change for thevoltage (V_(SUp)) and a falling rate of change for the voltage(V_(SLo)). If V_(SD) exceeds or meets V_(SUp), then the comparatorcircuit will determine that the change in V_(Tx) meets the risethreshold and indicates a rising edge in the ASK modulation. If V_(SD)goes below or meets V_(SLow), then the comparator circuit will determinethat the change in V_(Tx) meets the fall threshold and indicates afalling edge of the ASK modulation. It is to be noted that V_(SUp) andV_(SLo) may be selected to ensure a symmetrical triggering.

In some examples, such as the comparator circuit 74 illustrated in FIG.6 , the comparator circuit 74 may comprise a window comparator circuit.In such examples, the V_(SUp) and V_(SLo) may be set as a fraction ofthe power supply determined by resistor values of the comparator circuit74. In some such examples, resistor values in the comparator circuit maybe configured such that

$V_{Sup} = {V_{in}\left\lbrack \frac{R_{U2}}{R_{U1} + R_{U2}} \right\rbrack}$$V_{SLo} = {V_{in}\left\lbrack \frac{R_{L2}}{R_{L1} + R_{L2}} \right\rbrack}$

where Vin is a power supply determined by the comparator circuit 74.When V_(SD) exceeds the set limits for V_(Sup) or V_(SLo), thecomparator circuit 74 triggers and pulls the output (V_(Cout)) low.

Further, while the output of the comparator circuit 74 could be outputto the transmission controller 28 and utilized to decode the wirelessdata signals by signaling the rising and falling edges of the ASKmodulation, in some examples, the SR latch 76 may be included to addnoise reduction and/or a filtering mechanism for the slope detector 72.The SR latch 76 may be configured to latch the signal (Plot C) in asteady state to be read by the transmitter controller 28, until a resetis performed. In some examples, the SR latch 76 may perform functions oflatching the comparator signal and serve as an inverter to create anactive high alert out signal. Accordingly, the SR latch 76 may be any SRlatch known in the art configured to sequentially excite when the systemdetects a slope or other modulation excitation. As illustrated, the SRlatch 76 may include NOR gates, wherein such NOR gates may be configuredto have an adequate propagation delay for the signal. For example, theSR latch 76 may include two NOR gates (NOR_(Up), NOR_(Lo)), each NORgate operatively associated with the upper voltage output 78 of thecomparator 74 and the lower voltage output 79 of the comparator 74.

In some examples, such as those illustrated in Plot C, a reset of the SRlatch 76 is triggered when the comparator circuit 74 outputs detectionof V_(SUp) (solid plot on Plot C) and a set of the SR latch 76 istriggered when the comparator circuit 74 outputs V_(SLo) (dashed plot onPlot C). Thus, the reset of the SR latch 76 indicates a falling edge ofthe ASK modulation and the set of the SR latch 76 indicates a risingedge of the ASK modulation. Accordingly, as illustrated in Plot D, therising and falling edges, indicated by the demodulation circuit 70, areinput to the transmission controller 28 as alerts, which are decoded todetermine the received wireless data signal transmitted, via the ASKmodulation, from the wireless receiver system(s) 30.

Referring now to FIG. 9 , and with continued reference to FIGS. 1-5 , ablock diagram illustrating an embodiment of the power conditioningsystem 40 is illustrated. At the power conditioning system 40,electrical power is received, generally, as a DC power source, via theinput power source 12 itself or an intervening power converter,converting an AC source to a DC source (not shown). A voltage regulator46 receives the electrical power from the input power source 12 and isconfigured to provide electrical power for transmission by the antenna21 and provide electrical power for powering components of the wirelesstransmission system 21. Accordingly, the voltage regulator 46 isconfigured to convert the received electrical power into at least twoelectrical power signals, each at a proper voltage for operation of therespective downstream components: a first electrical power signal toelectrically power any components of the wireless transmission system 20and a second portion conditioned and modified for wireless transmissionto the wireless receiver system 30. As illustrated in FIG. 3 , such afirst portion is transmitted to, at least, the sensing system 50, thetransmission controller 28, and the communications system 29; however,the first portion is not limited to transmission to just thesecomponents and can be transmitted to any electrical components of thewireless transmission system 20.

The second portion of the electrical power is provided to an amplifier42 of the power conditioning system 40, which is configured to conditionthe electrical power for wireless transmission by the antenna 21. Theamplifier may function as an inverter, which receives an input DC powersignal from the voltage regulator 46 and generates an AC as output,based, at least in part, on PWM input from the transmission controlsystem 26. The amplifier 42 may be or include, for example, a powerstage invertor, such as a single field effect transistor (FET), a dualfield effect transistor power stage invertor or a quadruple field effecttransistor power stage invertor. The use of the amplifier 42 within thepower conditioning system 40 and, in turn, the wireless transmissionsystem 20 enables wireless transmission of electrical signals havingmuch greater amplitudes than if transmitted without such an amplifier.For example, the addition of the amplifier 42 may enable the wirelesstransmission system 20 to transmit electrical energy as an electricalpower signal having electrical power from about 10 mW to about 500 W. Insome examples, the amplifier 42 may be or may include one or moreclass-E power amplifiers. Class-E power amplifiers are efficiently tunedswitching power amplifiers designed for use at high frequencies (e.g.,frequencies from about 1 MHz to about 1 GHz). Generally, a single-endedclass-E amplifier employs a single-terminal switching element and atuned reactive network between the switch and an output load (e.g., theantenna 21). Class E amplifiers may achieve high efficiency at highfrequencies by only operating the switching element at points of zerocurrent (e.g., on-to-off switching) or zero voltage (off to onswitching). Such switching characteristics may minimize power lost inthe switch, even when the switching time of the device is long comparedto the frequency of operation. However, the amplifier 42 is certainlynot limited to being a class-E power amplifier and may be or may includeone or more of a class D amplifier, a class EF amplifier, an H invertoramplifier, and/or a push-pull invertor, among other amplifiers thatcould be included as part of the amplifier 42.

Turning now to FIG. 10 and with continued reference to, at least, FIGS.1 and 2 , the wireless receiver system 30 is illustrated in furtherdetail. The wireless receiver system 30 is configured to receive, atleast, electrical energy, electrical power, electromagnetic energy,and/or electrically transmittable data via near field magnetic couplingfrom the wireless transmission system 20, via the transmission antenna21. As illustrated in FIG. 9 , the wireless receiver system 30 includes,at least, the receiver antenna 31, a receiver tuning and filteringsystem 34, a power conditioning system 32, a receiver control system 36,and a voltage isolation circuit 70. The receiver tuning and filteringsystem 34 may be configured to substantially match the electricalimpedance of the wireless transmission system 20. In some examples, thereceiver tuning and filtering system 34 may be configured to dynamicallyadjust and substantially match the electrical impedance of the receiverantenna 31 to a characteristic impedance of the power generator or theload at a driving frequency of the transmission antenna 20.

As illustrated, the power conditioning system 32 includes a rectifier 33and a voltage regulator 35. In some examples, the rectifier 33 is inelectrical connection with the receiver tuning and filtering system 34.The rectifier 33 is configured to modify the received electrical energyfrom an alternating current electrical energy signal to a direct currentelectrical energy signal. In some examples, the rectifier 33 iscomprised of at least one diode. Some non-limiting exampleconfigurations for the rectifier 33 include, but are not limited toincluding, a full wave rectifier, including a center tapped full waverectifier and a full wave rectifier with filter, a half wave rectifier,including a half wave rectifier with filter, a bridge rectifier,including a bridge rectifier with filter, a split supply rectifier, asingle phase rectifier, a three phase rectifier, a voltage doubler, asynchronous voltage rectifier, a controlled rectifier, an uncontrolledrectifier, and a half controlled rectifier. As electronic devices may besensitive to voltage, additional protection of the electronic device maybe provided by clipper circuits or devices. In this respect, therectifier 33 may further include a clipper circuit or a clipper device,which is a circuit or device that removes either the positive half (tophalf), the negative half (bottom half), or both the positive and thenegative halves of an input AC signal. In other words, a clipper is acircuit or device that limits the positive amplitude, the negativeamplitude, or both the positive and the negative amplitudes of the inputAC signal.

Some non-limiting examples of a voltage regulator 35 include, but arenot limited to, including a series linear voltage regulator, a buckconvertor, a low dropout (LDO) regulator, a shunt linear voltageregulator, a step up switching voltage regulator, a step down switchingvoltage regulator, an inverter voltage regulator, a Zener controlledtransistor series voltage regulator, a charge pump regulator, and anemitter follower voltage regulator. The voltage regulator 35 may furtherinclude a voltage multiplier, which is as an electronic circuit ordevice that delivers an output voltage having an amplitude (peak value)that is two, three, or more times greater than the amplitude (peakvalue) of the input voltage. The voltage regulator 35 is in electricalconnection with the rectifier 33 and configured to adjust the amplitudeof the electrical voltage of the wirelessly received electrical energysignal, after conversion to AC by the rectifier 33. In some examples,the voltage regulator 35 may an LDO linear voltage regulator; however,other voltage regulation circuits and/or systems are contemplated. Asillustrated, the direct current electrical energy signal output by thevoltage regulator 35 is received at the load 16 of the electronic device14. In some examples, a portion of the direct current electrical powersignal may be utilized to power the receiver control system 36 and anycomponents thereof; however, it is certainly possible that the receivercontrol system 36, and any components thereof, may be powered and/orreceive signals from the load 16 (e.g., when the load 16 is a batteryand/or other power source) and/or other components of the electronicdevice 14.

The receiver control system 36 may include, but is not limited toincluding, a receiver controller 38, a communications system 39 and amemory 37. The receiver controller 38 may be any electronic controlleror computing system that includes, at least, a processor which performsoperations, executes control algorithms, stores data, retrieves data,gathers data, controls and/or provides communication with othercomponents and/or subsystems associated with the wireless receiversystem 30. The receiver controller 38 may be a single controller or mayinclude more than one controller disposed to control various functionsand/or features of the wireless receiver system 30. Functionality of thereceiver controller 38 may be implemented in hardware and/or softwareand may rely on one or more data maps relating to the operation of thewireless receiver system 30. To that end, the receiver controller 38 maybe operatively associated with the memory 37. The memory may include oneor both of internal memory, external memory, and/or remote memory (e.g.,a database and/or server operatively connected to the receivercontroller 38 via a network, such as, but not limited to, the Internet).The internal memory and/or external memory may include, but are notlimited to including, one or more of a read only memory (ROM), includingprogrammable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EPROM or sometimes but rarely labelled EROM), electricallyerasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), random access memory(RAM), including dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), synchronousdynamic RAM (SDRAM), single data rate synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRSDRAM), double data rate synchronous dynamic RAM (DDR SDRAM, DDR2, DDR3,DDR4), and graphics double data rate synchronous dynamic RAM (GDDRSDRAM, GDDR2, GDDR3, GDDR4, GDDR5), a flash memory, a portable memory,and the like. Such memory media are examples of nontransitory computerreadable memory media.

Further, while particular elements of the receiver control system 36 areillustrated as subcomponents and/or circuits (e.g., the memory 37, thecommunications system 39, among other contemplated elements) of thereceiver control system 36, such components may be external of thereceiver controller 38. In some examples, the receiver controller 38 maybe and/or include one or more integrated circuits configured to includefunctional elements of one or both of the receiver controller 38 and thewireless receiver system 30, generally. As used herein, the term“integrated circuits” generally refers to a circuit in which all or someof the circuit elements are inseparably associated and electricallyinterconnected so that it is considered to be indivisible for thepurposes of construction and commerce. Such integrated circuits mayinclude, but are not limited to including, thin-film transistors,thick-film technologies, and/or hybrid integrated circuits.

In some examples, the receiver controller 38 may be a dedicated circuitconfigured to send and receive data at a given operating frequency. Forexample, the receiver controller 38 may be a tagging or identifierintegrated circuit, such as, but not limited to, an NFC tag and/orlabelling integrated circuit. Examples of such NFC tags and/or labellingintegrated circuits include the NTAG® family of integrated circuitsmanufactured by NXP Semiconductors N.V. However, the communicationssystem 39 is certainly not limited to these example components and, insome examples, the communications system 39 may be implemented withanother integrated circuit (e.g., integrated with the receivercontroller 38), and/or may be another transceiver of or operativelyassociated with one or both of the electronic device 14 and the wirelessreceiver system 30, among other contemplated communication systemsand/or apparatus. Further, in some examples, functions of thecommunications system 39 may be integrated with the receiver controller38, such that the controller modifies the inductive field between theantennas 21, 31 to communicate in the frequency band of wireless powertransfer operating frequency.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram for another wireless power transfer system110A, which may utilize one or more wireless transmission systems 120and one or more wireless receiver systems 30, each wireless receiversystem 30 associated with an electronic device 14. Similar to thesystems 10 described above, one or more antenna 121, 221 of eachwireless transmission system 120 may be configured to function as arepeater antenna and/or a transmission antenna. The transmission antenna121 of the transmission system(s) 120 may comprise or function asmultiple transmission antennas, capable of transmitting wireless powerto two or more wireless receiver systems 30, transmitter connectedwireless transmission systems 120, or combinations thereof.

In wireless power transfer systems, wherein a high resonant frequency isrequired (e.g. on the order of about 1 MHz to about 1 GHz), the size ofan antenna may be, relatively, limited when compared to lower frequencysolutions, due to self-resonant frequency, coil sensitivity, amplifierdriving capabilities, and/or low coupling efficiency concerns. In someapplications, such as, but not limited to, wireless power transfersystems in which a resonant frequency is above about 5 MHz, these issuesmay make it difficult for antenna designers to create proper coilshaving a two-dimensional area greater than, about 200 mm by 200 mm.However, using similarly sized antennas, but coupling each of thesesimilar antennas to a common power amplifier/power system (e.g., thepower conditioning system 40) may allow for larger power transfer areasand/or power transfer areas for multiple devices, coupled at higherresonant frequencies. Such designs allow for a system having two or moretransmission antennas or antenna portions that are driven by the sametransmitter power amplifier in a uniform and efficient way that enablesefficient, single and/or simultaneous power transfer in a lower-costmanner that may limit a bill of materials.

In view of the system 110 of FIG. 11 , such multiple antenna designs mayprovide a transmitting device with multiple “sub-areas” that eitherprovide the benefit of a wider power transmission area or allow formultiple devices to be powered by a single transmission system. Further,one or more of such sub-areas may be configured as repeaters to receivewireless power from another wireless power transmitter 120, forsubsequent transmission to one or more of a wireless receiver system,another wireless transmission system 120, or combinations thereof.

As noted above, a wireless power transmission implementation may use arepeater to redirect or alter the magnetic field emitted by a wirelesstransmission system so that the modified magnetic field emitted by therepeater is better suited to the distance, position or othercharacteristic of the end device being powered, e.g., charged. However,in this case, while the end device being powered no longer needs to becompatible with the wireless transmission system, the repeater must nowbe compatible. In practice, an incompatible repeater can cause energywaste, excess heat generation, and other undesirable issues.

The logical arrangement of system components when a repeater is used canbe seen schematically in FIG. 12 . In particular, the schematic diagramof FIG. 12 shows the power source 12 powering the wireless transmissionsystem 20. A repeater 1101 is located adjacent the wireless transmissionsystem 20 so as to couple inductively with the antenna of the system. Inturn, the repeater 1101 re-emits the received energy via inductivecoupling to the wireless receiver system 30 of the device 14 beingpowered.

As can be seen, most power received by the wireless receiver system 30of the device 14 being powered has first passed through the repeater1101. As such, the amount and quality of that power depends strictly onthe repeater 1101 and its compatibility with the wireless transmissionsystem 20. While a manufacturer of both the wireless transmission system20 and the repeater 1101 will generally ensure compatibility, there isno restriction on users trying to use third party, potentiallyincompatible repeaters.

In an embodiment of the disclosed principles, a magnetic tag is disposedin a repeater, with the location and magnitude of the magnetic fieldemitted by the magnet being fixed to identify that repeater to thewireless transmission system 20. In particular, the wirelesstransmission system 20 may include a magnetic field sensor, such as aHall effect sensor, located and calibrated to react to the magnet tagdisposed in the repeater.

FIGS. 12 and 13 show an example relationship of the magnet, magneticfield sensor, wireless transmission system 20 and repeater 1101 ingreater detail. The magnet 1201 within the repeater 1101 is positionedadjacent the face 1205 of the repeater 1101 that faces towards thewireless transmission system 20. In turn, the magnetic field sensor 1203within the wireless transmission system 20 is positioned adjacent theface 1207 of the wireless transmission system 20 that faces towards therepeater 1101.

In this way, when the repeater 1101 is located at a suitable distancefrom the wireless transmission system 20 with the adjacent faces 1205,1207 at an appropriate orientation, the magnetic field sensor 1203within the wireless transmission system 20 is able to respond to themagnet 1201 within the repeater 1101. There are a number of possibleface configurations leading to a number of possible sensor reactions.For example, if the faces 1205, 1207 are misaligned, the magnetic fieldsensor 1203 may not respond to the magnet 1201 or may respond at a levelthat indicates lack of compatibility, e.g., when the detected magneticfield is detected as being too weak. A similar sensor reading may occurif the distance between the faces 1205, 1207 is too great.

However, if the detected strength of the magnet 1201 is within a smallvariance, e.g., +−5%, of an expected value B_(c), then the wirelesstransmission system 20 responds to that reading by powering up andinductively coupling with the repeater 1101. In order for the detectedstrength of the magnet 1201 to be within a suitable tolerance of theexpected value B_(c), the magnet 1201 should have a prescribed strengthB_(p) and the faces 1205, 1207 of the devices should be properlypositioned, oriented and spaced. In this way, the wireless transmissionsystem 20 will not couple with a repeater that does not include theappropriate magnetic tag indicating compatibility, and will not evencouple to compatible repeaters if they are mispositioned.

It should be appreciated that there may be multiple magnetic tags, andthat all may be checked, or alternatively only one may be required togive the proper magnetic field value B_(c). The latter may be beneficialif, for example, the repeater 1101 and wireless transmission system 20are functional even if rotated by 90° (e.g., for four magnets) or 180°(e.g., for two magnets).

Moreover, the magnetic tag 1201 may further serve as a locating aid toproperly position the repeater 1101 against the wireless transmissionsystem 20. This function may be served by one or both of the fieldstrength and physical presence of the magnetic tag 1201. As to theformer, for example, the magnetic tag 1201 may attract to a point on themating face 1207 of the wireless transmission system 20. As to thelatter, for example, the magnetic tag 1201 may slightly protrude fromthe face 1205 of the repeater 1101 so as to key into a matingindentation on the face 1207 of the wireless transmission system 20.These examples are of course not exclusive.

An example of a Hall effect sensor and associated circuitry is shown insimplified schematic form in FIG. 14 for those less familiar in the art.The Hall effect sensor 1301 comprises essentially a conductive orsemi-conductive primary member through which a current is passed. Sincethe current is comprised of electrons in motion, the presence of anearby magnetic field will curve the electron paths within the primarymember, causing a detectable excess of electrons at one side or theother of the primary member. This excess presents as a small lateralvoltage differential.

While a digital sensor circuit will respond by switching states betweenan on state and an off state, an analog sensor circuit such as thecircuit 1301 shown will render an analog value in proportion to theapplied magnetic field. In this way, not only the presence but also themagnitude of the applied field can be sensed.

In the illustrated schematic, the Hall effect sensor element 1303 ispowered by the system voltage V_(cc) as regulated by the voltageregulator 1305 and is grounded to the system ground. This provides themotive force for current flow. The Hall effect sensor element 1303 alsohad two detector pins in addition to the power pins, and the outputs ofthe detector pins are provided as inputs to a high gain amplifier 1307.In the absence of an applied magnetic field, the two detector pins areat the same voltage, and thus the output 1309 of the high gain amplifier1307 is essentially zero. However, when an external magnetic fieldimpinges on the Hall effect sensor element 1303, the voltagedifferential between the two detector pins becomes nonzero, and theoutput 1309 of the high gain amplifier 1307 will exhibit an amplifiedrepresentation of that nonzero voltage differential. This amplifiedsignal can be used to distinguish between different magnets, ornon-magnets, placed in the same location relative to the Hall effectsensor element 1303.

Thus, referencing FIG. 13 , if the repeater 1101 does not have themagnetic tag 1201, or has a magnetic tag of an unexpected strength, themagnetic field sensor 1203 within the wireless transmission system 20will output a value other than a value associated with a compatiblerepeater. This function may be better understood by reference to FIG. 15, which is a flowchart illustrating a process of repeater verificationin accordance with an embodiment of the disclosed principles.

At stage 1403 of the process 1401, the wireless transmission system 20samples the output of the magnetic field sensor 1203. If the sampledvalue indicates the presence of a compatible repeater, as determined atstage 1405, the process 1401 flows to stage 1407, wherein the wirelesstransmission system 20 couples with the repeater and begins powertransmission. If instead it is determined at stage 1405 that the sampledvalue does not indicate the presence of a compatible repeater, theprocess 1401 instead returns to stage 1403 without initiating coupling.

From stage 1407, the wireless transmission system 20 periodicallydetermines at stage 1409 whether a compatible repeater is still present.If it is determined at stage 1409 that a compatible repeater is stillpresent, the process 1401 continues to stage 1413 wherein the wirelesstransmission system 20 continues with power transmission whileperiodically returning to stage 1409 to verify that the compatiblerepeater is still present. If instead it is determined at stage 1409, onthe initial or a subsequent pass, that the compatible repeater is nolonger present, the process flows from stage 1409 to stage 1411. Thewireless transmission system 20 terminates power transmission at stage1411, before returning to stage 1403 to again await the presence of acompatible repeater.

The repeater magnet has been described above by its use in verifyingthat a repeater is of a known quality, e.g., is a compatible repeater.In a further embodiment, the wireless transmission system 20 isconfigured to alter the tuning of the transmitter to account for thefact of transmission to a repeater instead of to an end device.Moreover, a repeater may also incorporate a Hall effect sensor toidentify an appropriate downstream repeater. In this way, verificationof a third coil in the chain is possible, and the lack of the secondrepeater magnet may disable the first repeater such that there is nopower transmission.

The systems, methods, and apparatus disclosed herein are designed tooperate in an efficient, stable and reliable manner to satisfy a varietyof operating and environmental conditions. The systems, methods, and/orapparatus disclosed herein are designed to operate in a wide range ofthermal and mechanical stress environments so that data and/orelectrical energy is transmitted efficiently and with minimal loss. Inaddition, the system 10, 110 may be designed with a small form factorusing a fabrication technology that allows for scalability, and at acost that is amenable to developers and adopters. In addition, thesystems, methods, and apparatus disclosed herein may be designed tooperate over a wide range of frequencies to meet the requirements of awide range of applications.

In an embodiment, a ferrite shield may be incorporated within theantenna structure to improve antenna performance. Selection of theferrite shield material may be dependent on the operating frequency asthe complex magnetic permeability (μ=μ′−j*μ″) is frequency dependent.The material may be a polymer, a sintered flexible ferrite sheet, arigid shield, or a hybrid shield, wherein the hybrid shield comprises arigid portion and a flexible portion. Additionally, the magnetic shieldmay be composed of varying material compositions. Examples of materialsmay include, but are not limited to, zinc comprising ferrite materialssuch as manganese-zinc, nickel-zinc, copper-zinc, magnesium-zinc, andcombinations thereof.

While illustrated as individual blocks and/or components of the wirelesstransmission system 20, one or more of the components of the wirelesstransmission system 20 may combined and/or integrated with one anotheras an integrated circuit (IC), a system-on-a-chip (SoC), among othercontemplated integrated components. To that end, one or more of thetransmission control system 26, the power conditioning system 40, thesensing system 50, the transmitter coil 21, and/or any combinationsthereof may be combined as integrated components for one or more of thewireless transmission system 20, the wireless power transfer system 10,and components thereof. Further, any operations, components, and/orfunctions discussed with respect to the wireless transmission system 20and/or components thereof may be functionally embodied by hardware,software, and/or firmware of the wireless transmission system 20.

Similarly, while illustrated as individual blocks and/or components ofthe wireless receiver system 30, one or more of the components of thewireless receiver system 30 may combined and/or integrated with oneanother as an IC, a SoC, among other contemplated integrated components.To that end, one or more of the components of the wireless receiversystem 30 and/or any combinations thereof may be combined as integratedcomponents for one or more of the wireless receiver system 30, thewireless power transfer system 10, and components thereof. Further, anyoperations, components, and/or functions discussed with respect to thewireless receiver system 30 and/or components thereof may befunctionally embodied by hardware, software, and/or firmware of thewireless receiver system 30.

As used herein, the phrase “at least one of” preceding a series ofitems, with the term “and” or “or” to separate any of the items,modifies the list as a whole, rather than each member of the list (i.e.,each item). The phrase “at least one of” does not require selection ofat least one of each item listed; rather, the phrase allows a meaningthat includes at least one of any one of the items, and/or at least oneof any combination of the items, and/or at least one of each of theitems. By way of example, the phrases “at least one of A, B, and C” or“at least one of A, B, or C” each refer to only A, only B, or only C;any combination of A, B, and C; and/or at least one of each of A, B, andC.

The predicate words “configured to”, “operable to”, and “programmed to”do not imply any particular tangible or intangible modification of asubject, but, rather, are intended to be used interchangeably. In one ormore embodiments, a processor configured to monitor and control anoperation or a component may also mean the processor being programmed tomonitor and control the operation or the processor being operable tomonitor and control the operation. Likewise, a processor configured toexecute code can be construed as a processor programmed to execute codeor operable to execute code.

A phrase such as “an aspect” does not imply that such aspect isessential to the subject technology or that such aspect applies to allconfigurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating to anaspect may apply to all configurations, or one or more configurations.An aspect may provide one or more examples of the disclosure. A phrasesuch as an “aspect” may refer to one or more aspects and vice versa. Aphrase such as an “embodiment” does not imply that such embodiment isessential to the subject technology or that such embodiment applies toall configurations of the subject technology. A disclosure relating toan embodiment may apply to all embodiments, or one or more embodiments.An embodiment may provide one or more examples of the disclosure. Aphrase such an “embodiment” may refer to one or more embodiments andvice versa. A phrase such as a “configuration” does not imply that suchconfiguration is essential to the subject technology or that suchconfiguration applies to all configurations of the subject technology. Adisclosure relating to a configuration may apply to all configurations,or one or more configurations. A configuration may provide one or moreexamples of the disclosure. A phrase such as a “configuration” may referto one or more configurations and vice versa.

The word “exemplary” is used herein to mean “serving as an example,instance, or illustration.” Any embodiment described herein as“exemplary” or as an “example” is not necessarily to be construed aspreferred or advantageous over other embodiments. Furthermore, to theextent that the term “include,” “have,” or the like is used in thedescription or the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in amanner similar to the term “comprise” as “comprise” is interpreted whenemployed as a transitional word in a claim. Furthermore, to the extentthat the term “include,” “have,” or the like is used in the descriptionor the claims, such term is intended to be inclusive in a manner similarto the term “comprise” as “comprise” is interpreted when employed as atransitional word in a claim.

All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the variousaspects described throughout this disclosure that are known or latercome to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are expresslyincorporated herein by reference and are intended to be encompassed bythe claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is intended to bededicated to the public regardless of whether such disclosure isexplicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is to be construedunder the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph, unless theelement is expressly recited using the phrase “means for” or, in thecase of a method claim, the element is recited using the phrase “stepfor.”

Reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one andonly one” unless specifically so stated, but rather “one or more.”Unless specifically stated otherwise, the term “some” refers to one ormore. Pronouns in the masculine (e.g., his) include the feminine andneuter gender (e.g., her and its) and vice versa. Headings andsubheadings, if any, are used for convenience only and do not limit thesubject disclosure.

While this specification contains many specifics, these should not beconstrued as limitations on the scope of what may be claimed, but ratheras descriptions of particular implementations of the subject matter.Certain features that are described in this specification in the contextof separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in asingle embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described inthe context of a single embodiment can also be implemented in multipleembodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination. Moreover,although features may be described above as acting in certaincombinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more featuresfrom a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from thecombination, and the claimed combination may be directed to a subcombination or variation of a sub combination.

1. A modular wireless power transfer system comprising: a wirelesstransmission system, the wireless transmission system configured toreceive input power from an input power source and generate AC wirelesssignals based, at least in part, on the input power, the AC wirelesssignals including wireless power signals and wireless data signals, thewireless transmission system including: a transmission antennaconfigured to couple with one or more other antennas, a transmissioncontroller configured to provide driving signals for driving thetransmission antenna, a power conditioning system configured to receivethe driving signals and generate the AC wireless signals based, at leastin part, on the driving signals, and a magnetic sensor system configuredto identify a repeater system prior to transmitting power or data to therepeater system; and the repeater system configured to wirelesslyreceive the AC wireless signals from the wireless transmission system,the repeater system including: a secondary transmission antenna, thesecondary transmission antenna configured to repeat the AC wirelesssignals to one or more antennas, a magnet located and configured toidentify the repeater system to the magnetic sensor system of thewireless transmission system, a second transmission controllerconfigured to provide second driving signals for driving the secondarytransmission antenna, and a second power conditioning system configuredto receive the second driving signals and generate second AC wirelesssignals based, at least in part, on the second driving signals, whereinthe second transmission controller and the second power conditioningsystem are bypassed in a signal path for the AC wireless signals.
 2. Themodular wireless power transfer system of claim 1, wherein the magneticsensor system of the wireless transmission system comprises a Halleffect sensor.
 3. The modular wireless power transfer system of claim 2,wherein the magnetic sensor system of the wireless transmission systemis configured to use a signal from the Hall effect sensor to determinewhether or not to transmit power or data to the repeater system.
 4. Themodular wireless power transfer system of claim 3, wherein the signalfrom the Hall effect sensor is indicative of a strength of a detectedmagnetic field.
 5. (canceled)
 6. (canceled)
 7. The modular wirelesspower transfer system of claim 1, wherein each of the transmissionantenna and the secondary transmission antenna is configured to operatebased on an operating frequency of about 6.78 MHz.
 8. A wirelessrepeater system, the wireless repeater system for wirelessly receivingAC wireless signals from a wireless transmission system, the wirelessrepeater system comprising: a receiver antenna for receiving AC wirelesssignals from the wireless power and data transmission system; atransmission antenna configured to repeat the AC wireless signals; arepeater magnet located and configured to identify the wireless repeatersystem to a magnetic sensor system of the wireless transmission system atransmission controller configured to provide driving signals to thetransmission antenna; a power conditioning system configured to recreatethe AC wireless signals in the repeater system; and a selectable signalpath for the AC wireless signals that bypasses the transmissioncontroller and power conditioning system.
 9. The wireless repeatersystem of claim 8, wherein the magnetic sensor system of the wirelesstransmission system comprises a Hall effect sensor.
 10. The wirelessrepeater system of claim 9, wherein the magnetic sensor system of thewireless transmission system is configured to use an output of the Halleffect sensor to determine whether or not to transmit power or data tothe wireless repeater system.
 11. The wireless repeater system of claim10, wherein the signal from the Hall effect sensor is indicative of astrength of the repeater magnet when the wireless transmission system islocated in a specific location and orientation relative to the wirelessrepeater system.
 12. (canceled)
 13. (canceled)
 14. The wireless repeatersystem of claim 8, wherein the transmission antenna is configured tooperate based on an operating frequency of about 6.78 MHz.
 15. Awireless transmission system comprising: a first transmission antenna; afirst transmission controller configured to provide driving signals fordriving the transmission antenna; a first power conditioning systemconfigured to receive the driving signals and generate AC wirelesssignals based, at least in part, on the driving signals; a magneticsensor system configured to sense a magnet having a first strength in aspecific location on a repeater and to allow transmission of the ACwireless signals to the repeater based on sensing the magnet in thespecific location; and a wireless repeater system for wirelesslyreceiving the AC wireless signals, the wireless repeater systemincluding: at least a second antenna for receiving AC wireless signalsand configured to repeat the AC wireless signals, a repeater magnetlocated and configured to identify the wireless repeater system to themagnetic sensor system of the wireless transmission system. A secondtransmission controller configured to provide second driving signals toat least the second antenna, a second power conditioning systemconfigured to recreate the AC wireless signals in the wireless repeatersystem, and a selectable signal path for the AC wireless signals thatbypasses the second transmission controller and second powerconditioning system.
 16. The wireless transmission system of claim 15,wherein the magnetic sensor system comprises a Hall effect sensor. 17.The wireless transmission system of claim 15, wherein the firsttransmission antenna is configured to operate based on an operatingfrequency of about 6.78 MHz.
 18. The wireless transmission system ofclaim 15, wherein the wireless transmission system is configured tocease transmission of the AC wireless signals when the magnetic sensorsystem determines that the magnet is no longer in the specific location.19. The wireless transmission system of claim 18, wherein the magneticsensor system determines that the magnet is no longer in the specificlocation due to a movement of the repeater away from the wirelesstransmission system.
 20. The wireless transmission system of claim 18,wherein the magnetic sensor system determines that the magnet is nolonger in the specific location due to the magnetic sensor systemdetecting a second magnet having a second strength that is differentthan the first strength of the magnet.